


until i had you on the open road

by Colordrained



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Autumn, Boyfriends, Coffee Shops, Comfort, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Human Castiel, I Love You, Kissing, M/M, No Angst, Pet Names, Rain, Road Trips, Romantic Fluff, but its happy crying ok, laughing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 20:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4975558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colordrained/pseuds/Colordrained
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em> "Can you take me on a drive?" </em>
</p><p> </p><p>  <em>Dean just grins, wildly, joyously, "Yeah, angel." </em></p>
            </blockquote>





	until i had you on the open road

**Author's Note:**

> tw: smoking mention
> 
> my goal for this fic was to make it as sweet and happy and autumnal as possible
> 
> also pls u know dean calls him angel all the time  
> \- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
> 
> title is from Drive by Halsey

October in the North Carolina mountains, with trees blanketed in jade and fire toned leaves alike, sure was something.

For Dean, it was a thing to marvel at for a half hour or so. For Sam, it was a reminder of how vast the world truly was, and that he could run off into it whenever he pleased. For Cas, it was unreal.

Dean had driven them through the Smokeys en route to the hotel—a tiny, hole-in-the-wall place with hand painted welcome signs and a family of jack-o-lanterns on the front step—and Cas had spent the entire time with his hands pressed against the window, angelic eyes wide with awe at something all too earthly. Dean didn't ask about it then; he just watched his boyfriend in the overhead mirror with a pleasant grin. 

It's nice, this kind of a trip. They aren't on a hunt even thought they probably should be. Sam just wanted to go through North Carolina. Cas had agreed enthusiastically, despite his annoyance with confined spaces for long periods of time. 

"A literal change of scenery, yes," Castiel had said, "I could use that. I haven't seen North Carolina since 1720, I bet it's still beautiful."

And so now Dean lays splayed out on one of the two dressed mattresses, closing his eyes and smiling at the genuine cotton sheets. He breathes in deep the October air from the cracked window, listening to his brother and his boyfriend talk about the colonial colonies of the Carolinas. 

They meander for a while in the hotel room. It's _easy_ , more than anything. It's a kind of tranquility that feels foreign to all three of them. Sam reads for a bit, Dean and Cas sip coffee and kiss a couple times, and they settle on going for a drive into town a couple hours later to eat.

At the diner, the waitress drops the bottle of tabasco, prompting immediate teasing from Dean about the Mystery Spot Case. Ultimately, they spend the next several hours recalling old hunting mishaps and oddities. By the time they call for the check, Cas' cheeks hurt from laughing so much. 

When they lay down that night, the hotel room is a blanketing, comforting pitch black. Sam set a strict "no sex of any kind" rule for the three days, so Dean and Cas keep the kisses gentle, soft, and nothing more than comforting. Cas attempts to venture towards Dean's neck, but immediately receives a "Fuck, no, no, angel, that's not gonna end well," because Dean really doubts Sam would care for where that leads.

When Dean wakes at 6:40 (out of hunting habits), he props himself on his elbow and watches Cas sleep for a few minutes. Deciding that Castiel looks too beautiful to possibly turn away from in the pale yellow light, Dean resorts to tracing planets and moons and stars with his finger on Cas' shoulder. He does this for all of fifteen minutes, then slides stealthily from the bed covers and makes himself a cup of coffee with the hotel room's machine. 

There's a moment then, just before Sam and Castiel wake, when Dean sits on a the green kitchenette bar stool and looks at what's before him: the two people he loves most at peace. And hell if that's not enough to make his heart feel at home.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

It's a 2:18pm that Cas asks. Sam goes out on the patio to smoke for a minute, and as Dean stands to go get a glass of water, Cas walks right up and tangles his hands in Dean's hair. 

"Can you take me on a drive?" 

Dean just grins, wildly, joyously, "Yeah, angel." 

Though Dean expects otherwise, Sam seems fine with it: "Nah, it's cool, I think I wanna go on a walk by myself anyways. Have fun, alright? Don't get lost."

So Dean drives 26 over the speed limit with the windows down to let the damp, cool air wash over their skin. Cas is so giddy that he's almost laughing the whole time. He beams at the mountains, beams at Dean, just fucking glows. His arm rests out the window, hand dancing in hopes to feel out the velvet wind. At one point Cas just closes his eyes and inhales deep and exhales the words _"Dean, I love this_ " and he's got Dean smiling his full-blown smile at that. 

"I know, it's...This is drivin' weather, Cas. This is the best shit in the world, right here."

Cas bites his lip, grins hard, and breathes, "Can we pull over? Somewhere we can stand and look?"

Dean looks at him, blinks once and nods, "'Course, babe. It's supposed to rain, though, so—"

"That's fine, that's okay. It's just beautiful."

"That it is, angel," Dean agrees.

Two minutes later they come upon a widened section of the road with a large shoulder. Overgrown weeds embed themselves at the edge of the concrete. The view frames the valleys and peaks of the monumental mountains.

Cas skitters from the car and stands on the asphalt with his hands heavy by his side, gaze filled with awe and fixed on the horizon. After shutting the Impala door, Dean saunters over to Cas' side. As gorgeous as the view probably is, Dean decided upon watching Cas' expression for a while. 

"Is it different, as a human?" Dean murmurs, "Sight? Seeing this kinda stuff?"

Cas draws in a deep breath, not daring to look away, "Yes. It's... I'm less eloquent as a human, too, I'm not sure I can describe it as well... it feels real. Everything seems so much more tangible, and I can isolate senses now, so when I want to look at one mountain range, I can do so uninterrupted by the taste of carbon or the smell of ozone. I can see it as a whole, not as every vein in every leaf. It looks as it was intended to—it was designed for the human eye." 

Dean unconsciously bites his lip, nods in understanding. 

"Of course, it's, I mean, seeing some things as an angel were simply remarkable— the solar system, ocean depths, your eyes, thunderstorms. But this—"

"My eyes?" Dean flusters for a moment.

"Yes," Cas looks at him, "They're captivating now, but they were devastatingly beautiful as an angel. Hard to look away from. Similar to this—" he gestures to the scenery.

"That's, uh," Dean shakes his head, clears his throat, forces eye contact, "Thank you, Cas." 

Castiel extends a hand to his boyfriend, inviting him closer. Without hesitation, Dean grasps it, moves so his bicep presses to Cas'. After a moment, Dean turns to kiss his temple and mumble 'I Love You' into the skin. Those words have been an adjustment: they felt foreign and bitter like a lie in his mouth for as long as he can remember, but after one particularly awful night of self loathing that ended in Castiel's arms, sobbing, the three syllables never felt so necessary to say.

"S'raining, Dean."

Dean glances at the ground and sure enough, raindrops speckle the pavement. 

"We can leave if you want," Cas offers.

Inspecting Cas' eyes, Dean shakes his head and grins, "Nah, we can handle some rain, right?" 

Cas smirks back, "I think so, yes."

The sky picks up, streaming steady rain droplets to the earth, sun still glaring strong from high in the sky. The breeze was light and the air was soft, but being as it was only sixty-eight degrees out, Dean still found himself shivering within a few minutes. 

"Here," Cas says, noticing. He shrugs off his trench coat and helps slide it on Dean. 

"Thanks, babe," Dean gives him a half hug, "You sure you're okay, though? You're—"

"I know." 

Dean nods once. 

After seconds of silence, a wicked grin spreads on Castiel's face, which Dean sees instantly.

"What?" Dean smiles, "What're you thinkin'?"

Silent, easing from Dean's hold, Cas reaches to his tie, slipping a finger under and loosening it until it slips over his head. He flips the jacket off his shoulders and lets it fall to the concrete.

Dean stills, fairly sure of what's happening but also bewildered.

"This isn't sexual," Cas states.

"Okay," Dean gets out, feeble.

Holding eye contact, Cas' fingers flutter, finding his first button and undoing each of them, all the way down. The white cotton shirt lays open, tan skin flaunting itself. That shirt finds the ground too, and suddenly Castiel is shirtless on the side of Highway 441. 

Still wordless, Cas stands closer to the edge of the road and splays his arms out wide, welcoming the rain to sluice over tensing muscles. Dean gapes. 

Castiel looks unreal, separate from the rest of this world, suffocating in the beauty of nature. Dean forces himself to look hard, to never forget how Cas looks with his black slacks hooked on his hips, head tipped back in peace, eyelashes full and damp with rainwater. 

And as if that isn't already overwhelming, another though hits Dean like a freight train: _Wings. Like Wings._

Dean gasps, quiet, and holds the breath in his throat. All at once it becomes easy to see Cas with a jet black mass of mighty feathers rooted in his bone, extending wide, powerful and frightening and stunning, and Dean feels the tears sting his eyes.

"You look beautiful, Castiel," is what Dean says. 

Cas smiles wider, stretches his hands out further, and says, "I feel endless."

"Yeah," Dean nods and tells himself the tears on his cheeks are raindrops, "You just stay there as long as you want, okay angel? 

Cas nods, leans his head forward a bit to look at the trees. He does not feel the cold air or the cold rain, just the open space. 

"I want to stay forever. Don't let me though, okay? I'll probably freeze," Castiel says.

Laughing for a second, a little too loud in attempt to stop crying, Dean walks slowly over to his boyfriend and lays a gentle hand on either side of his ribs. He skims his thumbs over Cas' skin, kisses just below his ear. 

When Cas' arms get tired and he lowers them, he turns to face Dean. 

"It's a secret, but seeing you like this kinda made me cry," Dean says in a barely-there whisper. 

Cas' eyes go wide, he cups Dean's jaw, "Are you—why? Are things—"

"I, uh. I mean it's a few things, but you...you looked _happy_ , for one, and Jesus—" Dean sweetly grips the hairs at the nape of Castiel's neck, "That's good, Cas." Dean smiles. "I don't know, it's silly, I just love you and bein' up here makes me all emotional or somethin' I guess."

"Okay," Cas says tenderly, "I mean, that's—It's a good reason, Dean, that's fine," he kisses Dean and brushes a finger repeatedly over his jaw. 

When they part, Dean takes a moment to run his hands over Cas' shoulders, makes a point to smile, "Wanna go?" 

"I guess we should, hmm?" Cas replies, leaning up once more to kiss Dean. 

"We could go to a cafe and warm up, if you want."

"Soaking wet?" Cas grins.

"Why the hell not?" Dean shrugs, smiling back. 

"Yeah," Cas says, "Yeah, that would be good." He kisses Dean again, and upon pulling away, explains, "Sorry, I keep kissing you and I'm not sure—"

Dean grabs his jaw and kisses him hard, again, again, until a lone passing car whistles loud in approval, at which they part laughing.

"Alright, Alright—" Dean wipes his mouth with the back of his hand— "Let's find you a shirt and get some coffee."

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Dean ends up zipping his canvas jacket up to his neck and giving the T-shirt and trench coat to Cas, because partial nudity is frowned upon in coffee shops.

The Starbucks has a smattering of college students, but is quiet and aglow with warm orange lamps. 

They kiss and talk about postseason baseball, about their siblings, favorite songs. 

When they get home and Sam babbles on about college football, Dean leans in and listens intently, and when they get up to check out of the hotel the next morning, Dean takes one long ass look at the two hotel beds before he shuts the door, and when they pass the widened shoulder on Highway 441 in the midst of the Smokey Mountains, Dean catches Cas' stare in the overhead mirror, and he smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> I love comments sm if you wanna leave them!! thank u for reading I hope you enjoyed it ~~


End file.
